Oblique Subjects in Germanic

by Jóhanna Barðdal
Oblique Subjects in Germanic
Author: Jóhanna Barðdal
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2023-09-18
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3111078019
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Pulling together the threads of forty years of research on oblique subjects in the Germanic languages, this book introduces a novel approach to grammatical relations, based on a definition of subject as the first argument of the argument structure. New data are presented from Gothic, Old Saxon, Old Norse-Icelandic, Old Swedish and Old Danish, as well as from Icelandic, Faroese and German. This includes alternating Dat-Nom/Nom-Dat predicates, where either argument, the dative or the nominative, takes on subject behavior. The subject concept is modeled with the formalism of Construction Grammar, both synchronically and for the purpose of reconstructing grammatical relations for Proto-Germanic.

Topic Drop and Null Subjects in German

by Ewa Trutkowski
Topic Drop and Null Subjects in German
Author: Ewa Trutkowski
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2016-04-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110437244
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This monograph deals with argument drop in the German prefield and it presents new insights into null subjects, topic drop and the interpretation of topic dropped elements. Major issues are (inter alia) the drop of structurally vs. obliquely cased arguments and the question on which basis nominative/accusative and dative/genitive can be kept apart. Furthermore, it is shown that the (im)possibility of phi-feature mismatches concerning the antecedent and gap in topic drop dialogues allows to differentiate between coreference and "real" (quantifier) binding. Aside from topic drop, (1st/2nd vs. 3rd person) null subjects are investigated across a couple of unrelated languages, also focusing on the presence of syncretisms within verbal inflectional paradigms. It is proven that 1st/2nd person null subjects in German are not an instance of antecedent-dependent topic drop but that they are licensed by discrete verbal inflectional endings. Thus, according to this property, German can be classified as a partial pro-drop language. Next to theoretical discussions and considerations this book offers a broad (empirically covered) data basis, which makes it suitable for both theoretically and empirically interested (generative) linguists.

Oblique Subjects in Germanic

by Jóhanna Barðdal
Oblique Subjects in Germanic
Author: Jóhanna Barðdal
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-09-06
Genre:
ISBN: 9783111077840
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Pulling together the threads of forty years of research on oblique subjects in the Germanic languages, this book introduces a novel approach to grammatical relations, based on a definition of subject as the first argument of the argument structure. New data are presented from Gothic, Old Saxon, Old Norse-Icelandic, Old Swedish and Old Danish, as well as data from Icelandic, Faroese and German. This includes alternating Dat-Nom/Nom-Dat predicates, where either argument, the dative or the nominative, takes on subject behavior. The subject concept is modeled with the formalism of Construction Grammar, both synchronically and for the purpose of reconstructing grammatical relations for Proto-Germanic.

Non-Canonically Case-Marked Subjects

by Jóhanna Barðdal
Non-Canonically Case-Marked Subjects
Author: Jóhanna Barðdal
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027263515
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Interest in non-canonically case-marked subjects has been unceasing since the groundbreaking work of Andrews and Masica in the late 70’s who were the first to document the existence of syntactic subjects in another morphological case than the nominative. Their research was focused on Icelandic and South-Asian languages, respectively, and since then, oblique subjects have been reported for language after language throughout the world. This newfangled recognition of the concept of oblique subjects at the time was followed by discussions of the role and validity of subject tests, discussions of the verbal semantics involved, as well as discussions of the theoretical implications of this case marking strategy of syntactic subjects. This volume contributes to all these debates, making available research articles on different languages and language families, additionally highlighting issues like language contact, differential subject marking and the origin of oblique subjects.

The MIHI EST construction

by Mihaela Ilioaia
The MIHI EST construction
Author: Mihaela Ilioaia
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2023-12-18
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 3111055620
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This book examines the Romanian mihi est construction (Mi-e foame/frică, me.dat = is hunger/fear ‘I am hungry/ afraid’). While it disappeared from all other Romance languages to be replaced with a habeo structure, the mihi est pattern is in Romanian the most common way of expressing psychological or physiological states. By means of synchronic and diachronic corpus studies, the book investigates the status of the core arguments of the mihi est structure, i.e. the dative experiencer and the nominative state noun, as well as its evolution throughout the centuries. The data analysis reveals that the dative experiencer syntactically behaves like nominative subjects, whereas the state noun shows predicate behavior. As for the evolution of the mihi est structure, the analysis shows a certain tendency toward innovation, since in present-day Romanian it can coerce nouns coming from other semantic fields into the construction’s psychological or physiological interpretation. Could this be another unique trait of Romanian, which causes it to seemingly go against the tendency of most Romance languages toward canonical marking of core arguments?

Variation in Datives

by Beatriz Fernandez
Variation in Datives
Author: Beatriz Fernandez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2013
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0199937362
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Variation in Datives collects new research on the nature of syntactic micro-variation in datives. The papers in this volume examine different aspects of internal variation in dative marking, such as agreement and case alternations, distribution of adpositional structures and dative case-marking, the different structural positions of dative arguments and their semantic contribution, and patterns of syncretism in the clitic and/or agreement system. Interest in these topics has grown significantly in the past 20 years. Variation in Datives makes a significant contribution to our understanding of language variation, as it adds the micro-comparative perspective to the general discussion and includes 10 new articles on a wide range of European languages, including Greek, Basque, Icelandic, and Serbo-Croatian. Variation in Datives will appeal to scholars and advanced students of syntax, linguistic variation, and especially syntactic micro-variation.

Case, Valency and Transitivity

by L. I. Kulikov
Case, Valency and Transitivity
Author: L. I. Kulikov
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027230870
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The three concepts of case, valency and transitivity belong to the most discussed topics of modern linguistics. On the one hand, they are crucially connected with morphological aspects of the clause, including case marking, person agreement and voice. On the other hand, they are related to several semantic issues such as the meaning of case, semantico-syntactic verbal classes, and the semantic correlates of transitivity. The volume unifies papers written within different theoretical frameworks and representing variegated approaches (Optimality Theory, Government and Binding, various versions of the Functional approach, Cross-linguistic and Typological analyses), containing both numerous new findings in individual languages and valuable observations and generalizations related to case, valency and transitivity.

The Bloomsbury Companion to Syntax

by Silvia Luraghi
The Bloomsbury Companion to Syntax
Author: Silvia Luraghi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 706
Release: 2013-02-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1441185224
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This Bloomsbury Companion is the most wide-ranging, state-of-the-art resource to a key area of contemporary linguistics. It covers fundamental issues, concepts, movements and approaches within the most relevant theoretical perspectives on syntax, encompassing the relationship between syntax and other levels of grammar. This book is a major tool for understanding syntax and its essential assumptions in the broader framework of current linguistic research. It is the most complete resource for postgraduate students and researchers working in syntax and neighboring fields. In addition, this companion offers a comprehensive reference resource, giving an overview of key terms and topics in syntax, research areas and new directions. With its section on methodology, it features a manageable guide to beginning or developing research in the field. It provides a review of current research as well as practical guidance for advanced study in the area.